Communities living in archipelagic Southeast Asia face daily threats from impacts of hydro-meteorological hazards and climate change. A project focusing on local and indigenous knowledge was implemented in Indonesia, Philippines and Timor-Leste with the objective of increasing the resilience of coastal and small island communities against climate change and hydro-meteorological hazard impacts. Building the capacities of scientists, local communities and policy makers to integrate local and indigenous knowledge is important to enable them to fully harness this knowledge. This paper describes a process for integrating local and indigenous knowledge with science that emerged out of this project. We believe that such a community-led process is a practical and positive way to promote the use of local and indigenous knowledge. Moreover, by regularly undertaking this process of knowledge integration, it becomes possible for us to take advantage of the dynamic nature of local and indigenous knowledge. For such knowledge and practices to be an important component for climate change adaptation, they need to continuously evolve according to changes in the environment and climate. Finally, it is only when such knowledge is continuously transmitted to the younger generations that it can strengthen community resilience.